break your way into my heart
by MissingMommy
Summary: Sirius' son, Leo, is convinced their neighbor is a superhero. He inadvertently gets his father a date when he's determined to figure out the truth. :: past!Marlene/Sirius, Wolfstar, for Liza


For Liza, enjoy! Thanks to both Amber and Bex for helping and beta-ing.

* * *

There's a knock upon Sirius' front door. He frowns and glances at the clock. His frowns deepens when he realizes it's almost half an hour past the time that James would be dropping off his son from his sleepover. Leo has his own keys.

He makes his way to the door, worried. He's sure James would've called if something happened, like the time Leo had broken his arm.

Sirius opens the door to see the most gorgeous man standing behind Leo. Of course Sirius has seen him before. The other man - Remus, Sirius recalls - moved into the empty flat across the hall a few weeks ago. Sirius had exchanged some idle chatter with him about work and Leo before.

"I believe he is yours," Remus offers. "I found him in my flat."

Sirius raises his eyebrow at his son. Leo just grins, so much like Marlene that it breaks Sirius heart sometimes. He looks completely unrepentant. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience."

Remus smiles; it takes Sirius' breath away. "It's alright. Not trouble at all. I just thought I would return him. I have to go. The boss wants my article on her desk by seven tonight."

"Good luck," Sirius says. "And thank you." Sirius watches Remus as he disappears inside his own flat before shutting his door. He turns to Leo. "What exactly were you in his flat for?"

"Clues," Leo answers.

"For?" Sirius presses.

Leo glances at Remus before answering. "His secret identity," Leo replies.

Sirius sighs. He's not even sure what he's talking about, so he decides to tackle the problem at hand. "You know it's wrong to go into someone else's flat without their permission." And then a thought hits him. "How did you get into his flat?"

"I picked the lock," he says proudly.

Sirius narrows his eyes. "I'm going to guess that your Uncle James taught you that."

Leo grins. "Me and Harry. He locked his keys inside the house."

Of course James would decide that it would be the best time to teach Leo and Harry how to pick a lock. He bites back another sigh, scrubbing at his face. "It doesn't matter the reason, don't lockpick your way into anybody's house but ours and Uncle James'. Got it?"

Leo looks like he's about to argue but he nods his head instead. Sirius ruffles his dark hair.

He nods towards the kitchen. "Dinner will be done shortly. Go wash up."

Sirius watches as Leo rushes out of the room. He smiles sadly. He wishes that Marlene was here to see how much Leo has grown over the years. He pushes that thought out of his head as he returns to cooking. There's no point in dwelling on things he can't change.

* * *

The next time there is a knock on his door, Sirius knows exactly what is going on. It hasn't even been a week. He swings the door open, folding his arms over his chest. Remus is standing there with a guilty looking Leo next to him.

"Room," he orders, "now."

"But dad -"

Sirius raises his eyebrow at him. "But nothing. Go to your room. And don't think for a minute you're not in trouble. You know what that means."

Leo's shoulders sag. He doesn't protest again. Sirius watches him disappear towards his bedroom.

Sirius turns back towards Remus, who has been quiet this entire time. "I'm sorry. I thought I made it clear that there would be consequences for doing that again."

"That's okay. Just a little startling to come home to a kid riffling through my things," Remus says.

Sirius winces. "I honestly don't know what has gotten into him. He doesn't usually do things like this."

"He's convinced I'm some sort of secret superhero," Remus replies quickly. "Or at least, I think that's what he thinks. He kept telling me that he's going to figure it out."

Sirius snorts at that. "He's been obsessed with superhero comics recently."

"That might do it," Remus comments. "If you don't mind, I've got to go. Some friends are coming into town to visit. I need to clean up."

Sirius winces. "I hope he didn't damage anything. I'll pay for it if he did."

Remus laughs. It's bright and infectious. Sirius can't help but grin. "No, he didn't. He was just shuffling through my things. It's not really that big of a deal."

"I'll let you get back to it. But thanks for, you know, not calling the police when you found him," Sirius says gratefully.

Remus flashes him a smile. "No problem. Really. He seems like a good kid. But good night!"

Sirius returns the sentiment and closes the door, after getting one last peak of the man donned in a cardigan. He sighs and rubs his eyes. There's a headache forming behind his eyes.

He knocks on Leo's open door. Leo looks up from where he's sitting on the end of his bed, his hands folded. He still looks guilty. If it wasn't for seven years of practice, Sirius would fall victim to Leo's guilty face. But Sirius knows better now.

"I thought I told you not to lockpick your way into other people's flats," Sirius says, getting straight to the point.

"I know," Leo replies. He averts his eyes. "But he's a superhero. I just know it. I wanted to prove it!"

Sirius frowns. "It doesn't matter what you wanted to do, Leo. That's someone else's place. You are invading Remus' privacy by sneaking in."

Leo still isn't looking at him, but Sirius can tell that his message isn't getting through.

"You're grounded. Harry can't come over this weekend, and you won't be able to go over there next weekend either. You'll come straight home every day for the next two weeks. Understood?"

There's a long pause before Leo says, "Yes."

Satisfied, Sirius turns on his heels and heads for the living room, where his phone is. He dials James' number, knowing that James is going to laugh until he's breathless when he learns what Leo's new lockpicking skills has gotten him into.

* * *

The next month is very quiet, which Sirius is grateful for. Leo goes through the entire grounding without acting out. He goes to school and comes straight home; he doesn't even try to argue to see Harry. Which, in hindsight, should've been Sirius first clue.

He answers the knock at the door hesitantly. There's a part of him that really isn't surprised. "Leonidas," Sirius growls.

"It's alright, really," Remus says assuredly. "We got everything sorted out, didn't we, Leo?"

Leo nods timidly.

"Unless you have somewhere to be, you could come in and explain how you sorted everything out," Sirius offers.

Remus smiles. "I've got nowhere to be and no article that needs my immediate attention."

Sirius motions him in. Leo trails behind Remus, his head hung low. He knows he's in trouble but Sirius will decide his punishment after company leaves.

Remus is sitting in the arm chair as Sirius takes a seat on the couch. Leo sits besides him.

"He thought I was Superman," Remus says with no preamble. "Which is flattering, but not true. I let him figure that out for himself."

Sirius doesn't have to prompt Leo to explain himself. "He works at the Daily Prophet!" Leo exclaims. "Clark Kent worked at the Daily Planet as a cover story for being Superman. He even _wrote_ stories about himself. I thought his job was a cover!"

Remus grins at Leo. "You saw that I am, in fact, not a superhero and that my job isn't a cover story?"

Leo folds his arms across his chest, and Sirius is struck by the thought of how much Leo looks like him in that moment. Leo huffs. "I guess. I still think you are."

Remus' grin doesn't fade. "Well, kiddo, you aren't going to find proof of that in my flat. Do you really think that I would make it that easy?"

"So you're admitting you have a secret lair," Leo points out.

Sirius stares at Remus, eyes wide. He can't believe that this man, who doesn't even properly know Sirius' son, is encouraging Leo's preposterous theory.

"I'll never tell," Remus answers with a wink.

Leo runs towards his bedroom, mumbling to himself. Remus meets Sirius' eyes. "That should keep him from breaking into my flat," he says matter-of-factly. "Which, by the way, how has he been managing to do that?"

"His Uncle taught him how to pick locks after he locked them out of the house," Sirius explains, momentarily forgetting his shock.

Remus outright laughs, and Sirius can't help but think it's the most beautiful sound he's heard in awhile. "Your brother knows how to lockpick?"

"We both do," Sirius corrects him. "I've been told that kids are karma for every bad thing we've ever done. Well, James and I got into more trouble than most. As you can tell, I'm finally understand what we put mum and dad through."

Remus laughs again. Sirius wants to make him laugh like this for the rest of his life. That realization hits him hard. He hasn't felt like this since Marlene, years and years ago.

Remus stops laughing. He's giving Sirius an indescribable look that makes Sirius realized he's been starting. Sirius motions towards the hallway that leads to Leo's room. "You didn't have to do that, you know?"

"What?" Remus furrows his eyebrows. "Telling him I had a secret lair?"

"Yes," Sirius replies. "He could handle the truth."

Remus frowns. "What's the point in that? I mean, besides the breaking and entering, there's really nothing harmful about letting him believe for a little longer. I don't mind. I wouldn't have told him that if I did."

Sirius shrugs. "Just so you know, he won't let this go for a while."

"I noticed."

"Would you like to go for coffee with me?" Sirius blurts out.

There's not a trace of surprise on Remus' face when Sirius does. If Sirius was in the habit of blushing, he would be blushing right now. He hasn't been this off balance in awhile.

"I'd like that. But why don't we go to the movies. _Wonder Woman_ was just released and it seems like Leo is more of DC fan than Marvel," Remus says.

"Holy shit," Sirius mumbles. "I didn't think you could get more perfect, but I was wrong."

Remus chuckles. "How about this Saturday? If Leo isn't in trouble. I mean, he didn't technically lockpick his way this time. I caught him in the act and invited him in."

"You may be cool with him breaking and entering, but I think that's a habit I should try to curb while he's still young," Sirius answers. "But since you invited him in, I may let him go to the movies, if you're sure you want him to join us."

"I wouldn't have offered if I minded," Remus replies easily. "Just let me know. I'm going to go so you can talk with Leo." He stands up and crosses the space between them and presses a kiss to Sirius' cheek. "Good night."

"Good night."

Sirius sits there, dazed, as Remus lets himself out. It's been almost five years since Marlene passed away, and this is the first time that Sirius has felt like he did with her. He glances to the hallway. He has to figure out how to tell Leo about the date. He has a feeling that it's going to be an interesting conversation. But right now, he's content to sit there, remembering the warmth of Remus' lips against his cheek.


End file.
